Hen23's Journal~Goodbye

[Henrietta23]

Clumpy poo.....largish scoop of grain....how big is that scoop? My does can tolerate a double handful per meal, which is about 2-3 cups, max. Then it is clumpy poo. That is why I use beet pulp (soaked) and alfalfa pellets to keep them busy.

My folks brought an apple pie over last night, along with a big bag of peels and cores. It is nice to have family that is so well-trained! The average person just wouldn't understand when I ooooh and ahhhh over the bag of garbage...er....gold, a bit more enthusiastically than over the pie!

I'd say it's about 2 cups and she doesn't eat all of it. Sometimes the poo is even mushy. And it is a much lighter brown than the kids' poo. I guess I feel so unsure because I have no previous goat experience and as you know she's on the skinny side.
How much beet pulp do you give yours?

 

[noobiechickenlady]

Dry feed corn, cooked corn? If I can find a favorite food for her....
she does like apples but she won't eat from our hands. She'll stand and lean on us and let us pet her for hours on end, but will not eat from our hands. He'd have to drop a kernel at a time in her dish which I suppose would work too.

Whole dry feed corn, she maybe ends up getting 15 kernels. That stuff is like crack for her! She's the only one that likes veggies & fruits tho, the other two turn their noses up. Keep your chin up, she'll come around and you'll be tripping over her whenever you go out there.

Hahaha free, that is awesome. I wish my folks were as well trained

 

[Farmfresh]

If you are trying to find a good large animal vet I would get the phone book and find the number for a local stable. They will be happy to tell you what vet they use.

 

[freemotion]

Oh, good, having been in the horse world for a few decades, a largish scoop conjures up a different image for me! I was briefly panicking for you. It is probably more about the change of environment and food, and stress. You need to get it stopped. Probiotics and a fecal exam are in order. Maybe reduce her grain even more for now and use alfalfa pellets (not cubes.) I'd put the whey in her food, just a tiny amount, and maybe add a small amount of sweetener to get her to eat it, like molasses or sugar or jam (like a tablespoon or less.) I'm always in the kitchen stirring up goodies for my critters, and it really works. If someone needs extra help this way, I make up their meal in advance so I'm not rushing in the morning.

Don't spend for the vet for hooves, they are not that critical. Call the feedstore and see if there is a farrier or an experienced goat owner who would help you for a fee. She will be fine for another week or so with long feet, just get done with school. She probably doesn't need another stress right at this moment, anyways. Breathe!

As for how much beet pulp....I put about a cup and a half of the type that is big shreds in the pan and cover it with water (barely) and let it sit. If overnight, I use cold water. If I forgot, I use hot. I divide that between the two goats. If I end up with the type that is ground up really fine, it takes less, like a cup, as it swells more. So it is not much, but it slows them down a bit.

Sunflower seeds....about a half cup per goat per day (shell-on bird food type) is plenty for the average goat. They are not critical, but a nice treat and good for the shiny coats.

 

[Henrietta23]

Okey dokey, I'll try the whey again now that she is actually eating some grain. We do have alfalfa pellets rather than cubes.
Oooh, you just gave me a thought. DH has a student whose mom has goats. I can see if she will teach me to trim!
I will call the large animal clinic about bringing in a fecal. And email Paul about vaccine history etc.
I think in some ways it feels like they've been here longer than they have and I expect her to be settled in by now.
Funny story... I buy our animal supplies mostly at our local Agway. Their cash register has animal noises programmed into it. So while I was shopping in the back of the store the other day I was hearing, "maaa, maaa" and I kept jumping because it sounded exactly like the kids!

 

[Henrietta23]

Is that cup and a half of beet pulp for all your goats or per goat?
The Donkster went nuts for her dish of grain, alfalfa pellets and apple chunks tonight. She got her front feet right up on that stand and waited patiently for DH to get her back end up. I'm not sure why she didn't get her whole self up there, except that with DH, me, Donki and both kids in the stall it's a little close! It's raining and no one told me goats are allergic to rain! So Thomas and Daisy had some grain and apples in the dishes on the other wall while Donkey chowed and I milked. DH had to step out to grab a chicken that was trying to eat and egg (hmmm, that may explain the drop in production! ) and Donki didn't even notice he wasn't there. If she could have gotten herself up there I could have milked without him!
The day got away from me and I didn't get to contact the vet clinic about bringing in a sample. I am wondering if maybe that's why she's so skinny? I've got an email out to Paul for some health history on her. Can't believe I didn't think to ask when I was there. Guess I was a little distracted by the excitement.
Things seem to be looking up. Almost everytime I look out she's munching on hay.
The kids were so excited to play on the milking stand. I got to handle them some. They tolerated it. Usually they jump away.
I was browsing around the Hoeggers catalog and found my dad's Father's Day gift. On the way back with Donki from MA he was telling me that when he got out of the Air Force he was toying with the idea of goat farming. He'd had a doe as a kid and milked her, loved his summers on his grandparents' farm. He ran across a newspaper article about the poet Carl Sandburg's goat farm in NC. So he wrote him a letter. He got back a personal letter from Mr. Sandburg and some extension agent brochures that he had gotten for him. He's since lost the letter and hadn't even thought about it in decades. So in the Hoeggers catalog are these plush toy goats, based on Sandburgs' Nubians!! How cool is that? Dad has been coming over every day to visit them. He and Donki bond over the fence. I just know he is going to want to milk her this weekend.

 

[freemotion]

That beet pulp is for both does for one meal. It is not so much about nutrition, but more about something to slow them down so I can get everything done, and it doesn't add more grain to the rumen.

She'll be getting on that stand herself in no time. Is it slippery to her at all? Mine is made with scraps of 2x10's and it took me a few days to figure out Mya's reluctance to get on it. She slipped ever so slightly and then didn't trust her footing. I got a cheap doormat from OSJL for $5 and set it on the stand, and she is fine. Then when I moved the stand to the cement-floored garage for the summer, she didn't want to get off the stand. So another mat went on the floor.

I don't spoil my animals much! Actually, if it makes my life easier on a daily basis, it is me that is getting spoiled, too.

Oh, and the Donkster is not really that thin. She is typical of a dairy breed that is approaching or at her peak of production. She will catch up again. They also lose a little weight when stressed. I wouldn't worry about it. She will be spoiled rotten and eating like the proverbial pig within a week.

Paul usually vaccinates with an 8-way sheep vaccine, so I'll bet she is ok for this year, but do get the dates from him. You can follow up next spring with cd&t. You get it a TSC and do all your goaties at once for something like $8, at a vet farm call savings of at least $300 for me!

 

[Henrietta23]

I'm terrified of trimming hooves but vaccines I can do!
As for the stand, she hasn't slipped that I'm aware of but it could very well feel to her like she might. I'll get a mat to put on it. The kids jump up on it like it's nothing, but then, they're kids! And they let me pet them tonight when I tucked them all in. We're getting there. Has it really only been 5 days?

 

[Henrietta23]

Off to bed. Lunches are made. Clothes ready although milky....
Dramamine Non-drowsy purchased (I get car sick on buses). Not willing to experiment with homeopathy tomorrow. I need to get there without turning green. My mom is going as DS's teacher's sub. I used to go on a lot of her end of the year field trips when she still taught and I was done with college for the year. We used to have a blast in Boston. Just Mystic Aquarium tomorrow.
Not counting tomorrow, 3.5 days of school! :bun

 

[Henrietta23]

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Survived the bus ride there and back. We had fun. I was only responsible for DS and one of his friends. Once I convinced that young man that he was not calling the shots things settled down. OMG, he actually said to me at one point, "Go!" Just that, "Go!" I said, "Excuse me?" And he replied "I want to go" Too bad kiddo, the rest of us aren't done. Knowing this kid, his sister and his family, it's easy to see who's in control in that house! Yikes.
I actually dozed off in the bus on the way home. With something like 36 2nd graders shrieking.
Tomorrow they have Field Day. They're going to be exhausted by Saturday! We're supposed to have DS's last baseball game tonight but it's currently raining. I'm waiting for the phone to ring.